The intercultural communicative competence of young children in a bilingual education setting.

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2016-08-25

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en

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This thesis investigates the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of children aged 4-6 attending a primary school that offers bilingual education. The data on the children’s ICC were collected using an observation form consisting of categories related to ICC which were identified by Gerlich et al. (2010). The children were observed on four school days during their regular classroom activities, with a particular focus on their interactions with persons from different cultural backgrounds. It was found that mostly positive attitudes occurred Children showed a substantial knowledge of English, as well as certain aspects of meta-linguistic knowledge. They exhibited a vast range of verbal communication strategies, as well as skills aimed at gaining new knowledge, and the skill of translation. The categories identified by Gerlich et al. (2010) were found to reflect the children’s ICC effectively, although some modifications were suggested, such as introducing new categories of skills.

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